The RoboBoat competition is an international competition where students design, build, and compete with self-driving robotic boats, in a series of tests aimed at challenging teams through a variety autonomous (self-driving) tasks. In 2023, we were joined by 22 other teams from 4 continents. UM::Autonomy placed 6th overall, and 3rd among American Universities.

Rising from the ashes of defeat and disorder following the pandemic, UM::Autonomy's 2023 boat, the Phoenix, soared to competition with renewed pride, a greater sense of togetherness, and a singular focus: to compete hard while having fun. Made entirely out of carbon fiber to reduce weight, the boat features two large thrusters for speed and a Ryzen 5600X CPU to make autonomous decisions.

After a hard-fought competition the previous year, the team chose to focus on four principles for this year: decoupling, reliability, maintainability, and performance. Not only was the AI pipeline decoupled and tested separately, but nearly all major components of the boat could be separated, making it extremely modular and maintainable. It was the first year that the team tested in the Marine Hydrodynamics Laboratory, and did so for over 100 hours. In addition, it was the first year that the boat was made out of carbon fiber from scratch—from the painstaking mold making, preparation, and vacuum resin infusion—in order to produce a boat that weighed less than 60 pounds while still delivering impeccable results.